I have a young first-time broody. And she is already set and determined to brood! She does not yet have a clutch of eggs to sit on. She is moving between the nest boxes each day. She always has eggs under her, so I suspect she’s returning to or relocating to whichever nest has eggs each day. I imagine she might be more stationary once she has dedicated eggs to hatch.
My last broody has chicks that are 1 month old today. She did great on the eggs until the last week when she started swapping nest boxes. It made me wonder… do broodies typically leave the nest on the last few days or do they lockdown the same way we do in an incubator?
I would prefer to let this broody hatch eggs in with the flock. My 2 options are to leave her in the nest box (which I did with the last broody but didn’t love due to the switching of nest boxes). Or I can try grafting her to a dog crate on the floor of the coop. If I open this crate for her, once grafted and the crate door is left open, the other hens WILL want to lay eggs in it. So she could still get kicked off the eggs.
My question is this… it’s June in Maryland. It’s hot and humid for the most part. As far as incubation goes, if the hen swaps nest boxes and leaves her eggs exposed for a few hours, is it really a big deal? I will check every evening & morning- at least- and move her as necessary.
My biggest concern with the last hen swapping boxes was how late it was in her cycle. I was worried she’d take her daily constitutional and another hen would discover pipped or freshly hatched chicks and harm them. This didn’t happen. But it worried me. That’s why I’m curious if the hen will lockdown and remain on the eggs for the final days. Last time I was working and the hen was on her own. This time I’ll be home and can check-in frequently, which helps me feel a little more at ease.
My other option, which I’m less enthused about, is moving her to the garden to hatch her eggs. She’d have the same dog crate for a nest box, but would have access to the garden as a “run.” She would share this space with Peanut Butter, who you might remember is my special needs Barnevelder hen. I’m worried about the dynamics between the broody hen and Peanut Butter (PB doesn’t know she has special needs and doesn’t know that she’s half the size of the other hens- she picks and loses a lot of fights- hence why she lives in the garden). I also don’t love the idea of my broody hatching away from the flock. The garden isn’t baby-safe, and mama & chicks would have to be returned to the flock as soon as they leave the nest. There is a small shared section of fence between the garden and flock, but not as much visibility as I’d like. The garden is outdoors. It’s cooler than the coop, but also more exposed to the elements. It’s also less protected from predators.
If I was confident she’d remain on the eggs once they begin hatching, I’d opt for keeping her in the coop.
Anyone have any opinions they want to share? Including a pic of my last broody mama and chicks just for fun.
My last broody has chicks that are 1 month old today. She did great on the eggs until the last week when she started swapping nest boxes. It made me wonder… do broodies typically leave the nest on the last few days or do they lockdown the same way we do in an incubator?
I would prefer to let this broody hatch eggs in with the flock. My 2 options are to leave her in the nest box (which I did with the last broody but didn’t love due to the switching of nest boxes). Or I can try grafting her to a dog crate on the floor of the coop. If I open this crate for her, once grafted and the crate door is left open, the other hens WILL want to lay eggs in it. So she could still get kicked off the eggs.
My question is this… it’s June in Maryland. It’s hot and humid for the most part. As far as incubation goes, if the hen swaps nest boxes and leaves her eggs exposed for a few hours, is it really a big deal? I will check every evening & morning- at least- and move her as necessary.
My biggest concern with the last hen swapping boxes was how late it was in her cycle. I was worried she’d take her daily constitutional and another hen would discover pipped or freshly hatched chicks and harm them. This didn’t happen. But it worried me. That’s why I’m curious if the hen will lockdown and remain on the eggs for the final days. Last time I was working and the hen was on her own. This time I’ll be home and can check-in frequently, which helps me feel a little more at ease.
My other option, which I’m less enthused about, is moving her to the garden to hatch her eggs. She’d have the same dog crate for a nest box, but would have access to the garden as a “run.” She would share this space with Peanut Butter, who you might remember is my special needs Barnevelder hen. I’m worried about the dynamics between the broody hen and Peanut Butter (PB doesn’t know she has special needs and doesn’t know that she’s half the size of the other hens- she picks and loses a lot of fights- hence why she lives in the garden). I also don’t love the idea of my broody hatching away from the flock. The garden isn’t baby-safe, and mama & chicks would have to be returned to the flock as soon as they leave the nest. There is a small shared section of fence between the garden and flock, but not as much visibility as I’d like. The garden is outdoors. It’s cooler than the coop, but also more exposed to the elements. It’s also less protected from predators.
If I was confident she’d remain on the eggs once they begin hatching, I’d opt for keeping her in the coop.
Anyone have any opinions they want to share? Including a pic of my last broody mama and chicks just for fun.
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